Dry closet



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(No Model.)

No. 449,2Q4.

Patented Marpl,` 1891.

NrTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRA JAMES CRDVAY, CF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

D RY C LO S ET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 449,294, dated March 31, 1891.

Application filed April 29,1887. Serial No. 236,554. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, IRA. J AMES ORDWAY, of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry Closets, ctc., of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates especially to dry closets for school and other public buildings, but is applicable to all kinds of buildings in which furnaces or stoves with chimneys or smokestacks are used.

The invention consists inthe matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a transverse vertical section of a portion of a building to which my invention is applied, showing a furnace F, with an opening P for the direct draft and P for the indirect draft, a privy-vault V, underneath a series of privyseats s s, &c., and leading to and terminating in chimney C. It also shows a second series of privy-seats s s', &c.,on the second licor of the building similar to those on the floor below, with an arrangement by which the products of combustion are caused to lleave the chimney C at R and pass around the receiver I in the direction indicated by the arrows and back into the chimney C at T, the receiver I being the receptacle for the fecal deposits from the seats above it. A similar arrangement can be adopted for any or all of the other iioors of the building, if desired.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the vault V or V with one of the seats s, the section being along the line .fr a: of Fig. l, and the view being at right angles with said ligure. It shows the receiver G and the two hinged covers c and o', one at the top and the other at the bottom of the seat s, and opening and shutting at the same time. These covers are so constructed and applied that they will not remain open when lifted, but will shut down automatically. 'lhe design of this double arrangement is to guard most effectually against any possible escape of foul gases upward through the seat and to prevent the seat from becoming unduly heated. The two covers Aare connected by means of the rod r, which is so plainly shown in the figure as to need no further explanation.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the vault V along the line y y, showing the action of the lever Z and the pinion p, by means of which the receiver G is revolved on the axis r. Fig. 4 is a side View intended to show the duct C in its round form, with some of its connections. Fig. 5 is a side view of the same duct O in its square forni with the same connections. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the square duct of Fig. 5 along the dotted line 5 5.

The ducts O and O' may be made round, as represented in Fig. e, or square, as represented in Fig. 5. If round, the deposit is made upon its outer surface, and if square upon its top side or flat covering G, which is so arranged as to empty the deposit, which is dropped on its upper surface, into said duct by rotating said cover, as described elsewhere, both for the purpose of effectually drying said deposit and facilitating its removal. As these d ucts are relied on to dry the deposits, a vent 4, as shown in both Figs. 4. and 5, should be provided.

The receivers C. and I, on which the excreta are deposited, are furnished with projecting rods r on the center of each end, on which they rest in a state of equilibrium and may be rotated at pleasure. Attached to this projecting rod at one end is a small geared Wheel or pinion p, Fig. 3,which engages with a lever Z, the expanded end of which is a sector of a geared wheel whose diameter is much greater than that of the pinion p. This lever is pivoted on the imaginary center of the geared wheel ofwhich it is a sector, and the motion of the lever-arm Z gives to the receiver G a rotary motion, amounting to at least a half-revolution. By means of this arrangement the receiver can be turned upside down or set at any desired angle with the horizon. The object of this is to facilitate the removal of the desiccated matter, which is thus dropped into the bottom of 4the vault V, whence it may easily be removed through the manhole I-I at the base of the chimney C, or in any other convenient way. The desiccated contents of the vault V on the second through the opening R.

or any higher floor, having been dropped into the bottom of said vault by the rotating of the receiver I, as above described, are removed by shoving them into the chimney C,

The plate D, placed horizontally in the chimney C between the openings R and T, Fig. 1, is intended to stop the smoke and other gases and cause them to pass in through the xo opening R, first under and then over the receiver' I, in the direction ind-icated by the arrows, and then out into the chimney' again through the opening T. Similar plates should be placed in the chimney or 'smoke-stack' vas often as a series of closets may call forthe deflection of the current of smoke and gases. These plates should be movable, and either hinged on one side or preferably pivoted on their centers, in order that they may be easzo ily rotated, so as to set them in a perpendicular position, for two purposes: First, to allow the desiccated excreta from each door to fall freely to the base of the chimney when shoved into it, as described above, and, secz 5 ondly, that the janitor may by this means be able to use the direct draft of the chimney when he first starts the fire in the furnace aud change to the indirect when the tire has become well established. The rotation of this 3o plate D may be effected by means of a lever on the outside of the chimney, attached to the projecting axis of the plate, as shown in the figure, or in any other convenient way.

In order to afford the needed artificial heat for the dry closets arranged according to my system, in the warm weather, when the furnace is not in use, a common stove or small furnace F should be set in that end of the vault V which is farthest from the chimney 4o C, discharging the products of combustion either into said vault or into the receiver O, described below. Besides fi'irnishing artificial heat for the desicc-atiou of the fecal deposits, this fire will increase the draft of the chimney and prevent the possibility of any return-draft. The receivers G and I are preferably made in the form of a solid plate. It', however, there is any danger that the smoke or other gases may find their way into the 5o privy through the seats,the receivers maybe in the form of a duct, as O, which carries the productsof combustion through the vaults .from the furnace to the chimney.

Dry earth or any other suitable absorbent may be placed in the bottom of any of the Ventilating-fines are not warmed by artificial heat, such currents bringing with them into the inhabited rooms those germs of disease that were intended to be carried out into the open air.

Among the advantages that I claim for my system are the following:

First. There is scarcely a possibilityT of a return-draft from the chimney.

Second. If by any possibility there should be a return-draft, it could affect only that part of the building in which the closets are situated. It could not find its way into the inhabited rooms, as would be the case if the air from said rooms were used.

Third. My system applies a very high degree of heat to the excreta. Ilence the desiccation is rapid.

Fourth. The smoke and other products of combustion are in themselves antiseptic, deodorizing, and disinfectant. They destroy disease-germs that common air will not dcstroy.

That I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, ism

l. The combination, with a privy-seat, of a chamber beneath the same, open at 4both ends, a heater at one end thereof, a chimney-flue at the opposite end, an imperforate horizontal partition arranged within said chamber to re ceive the fecal deposits, said partition being provided at either end with projecting pivotrods, and a lever in operative connection with one of said pivot-rods and extending upwardly therefrom, whereby the support may be tilted from the outside of the chamber, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a privy-seat, of a chamber beneath the same, open at both ends, a heater at one end thereof, a chimney-flue at the opposite end, an imperforate horizontal partition arranged within said chamber to receive the fecal deposits, saidpartition be ing provided at either end with projecting pivot-rods, a pinion secured upon one ofsaid rods, and an upwardly-extending lever provided on its lower end with a toothed sector adapted to engage the pinion, whereby the support may be tilted from the outside of the chamber, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a heater and a chimney-flue in connection therewith, of a damper in said fine, a privy-seat,a chamber beneath the seat for receiving the fecal deposits, com municatiug with the chimney both below the damper, and a horizontal above and .excrenient-holding plate within said chamber between the openings,-said plate dividing the chamber into two parts, communicating at their ends remote from the chimney.

lt. The combination, with a heater and a chimney in communication with the fire-box thereof, of a damper in said chimney, a privyseat andan eXcrement-receiving chamber beneath the seat,having openings communicat ing with the chimney above and below said IIO damper, andthe excre nient-holding dumping'- plate in said chamber between said openings, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a heater and a chimney-fine in communication therewith, of a damper in said chimney, a privy-seat, a chamber beneath the same, having openings communicating with the chimney above and below the damper, a pivoted imperforate eX- ro @rement-holding plate arranged horizontally in said chamber and dividing the same into two parts, communicating at their ends remote from the chimney, and a closed pipe leading from the opening below the damper through both portions of said chamber to the upper opening.

IRA JAMES ORDWAY. Witnesses:

Jos. W. MORTON, FRANK E. CLARK. 

